Composition of matter and the manner of making the same.



- the desire WILLIAM ANSYL To all whbm it may concern: v

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ANsYL PHIL- LIPS; a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Composition of Matter and the Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates matter and itsmethod especially designed for use as an electric conductor where conductors of high resistance are required, as, for exam le, in resistance oxes or rheostats, electric heaters, etc, and

to a composition of the invention has for its primary object to' provide an 1m of the describe ive, economical to Another object vide'an im roved composition of matter produce, and lasting.

of the invention is to proroved composition'of matter of character which will be practically indestructible by the electric current, and which also possesses the ower to a marked degree of resisting the estructive efiects of fire, water and the action of the mixed with a suitable with a metallic poses, as, for

atmosphere, thus giving the material a certain value when used for certain other purexample, for construction purposes, fire-proofing materials, and the like.

With these ends in view, the invention consists in certain features of novelty which now be fully described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In carryin out the invention, I employ a clay that wil be capable of resisting fire, such as ordinary fire-clay, which is first binder, as, for example, Portland cement, or any other form of calcium, after which it is pressed, with or without a metallic net-work or sheet in its interior to give added strength, or allowed to set into shape and subjected to heat'of a sufiicient degree of temperature tor-bake or vitrity it. The material thus prepared forms the body or base of the non-conducting portion of the compound or composition, and this body or base is then im re ated element of a suitab e c aracter which combines with the base or body, either chemically or mechanically, or both chemically. and mechanically, and forms therewith a durable and lasting article.

This metallic element being a conductor of thus impregnated with it the properties of PHILLIPS,O F ST. Louis, MISSOURI. comrosrrzon orma'r'rsn AND W or MAKING rm specification of Letters fatent. Application filed September 12, 1907. Serial No. 392,4;83.

of production more characterwhichwill be efiect- Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

an electric conductor, but which, by reason of the high resistance of the base or body of the composition, is especially adapted for use where conductors of high resistance are required or are desirable. The metallic element which it 'ispreferable to employ is in the form of a fluid, consisting of a mixture and preferably a molten mixture, of sulfid of iron and sulfid of lead. These two elements have a neutralizing efiect with respect to one another so far as the de ree of electrical resistance is concerned. en, the material is used as an electric conductor, or a art of a rheostat, for example, it of course ecomes heated, but it is found that the tendency of the lead to increase in resistance while the iron decreases in" resistance, maintains the degree ofresistance of the conductor as a whole substantially uniform or constant throughout the varying tern eratures. If it is desired to form a unit whic will decrease in resistance very materially, iron sulfid alone is used as the metallic element; to increase materiall lead sulfid alone is used. A small amount of copper or tin may be added to each, singly or together, with good results.

e proportions, of course, might be varied throughoutconsiderable range Without departi from the s irit of the invention, and will epend in each instance largely upon the uses to which the material is to be put and the character of the base substance employed, but a suitable proportion ordinarily would be about seven ounces of lead to onefourth ounceof iron. The degree of resistance of the material as pend largel upon ,the amount of calcium or itssalts an compounds, or lime employed in the body or base of the material. It will also be understood that by varying the pro portions of iron and lead the degree of resistance may be made to increase with heat or decrease with heat, or remain constant, since the resistance of the iron decreases in a greater degree or rate than the lead increases. The non-conducting body or base, when treated as above, is heated and immersed in this molten metallic element and sufiicient heat is applied in any suitable manner to cause the non-conducting material to take up the fluid conductor; be applied to the non-conductor in powdered form and caused to become absorbed into the non-conducting body, which in this case can be reinforced with a suitable metal sheet or netting, and given the required amount of a whole will also de-- clay heat; the non-conductor; being surrounded b the ow'dered metallic element and inclbsed w ile the heat is applied.

with reinforcement in the base, the non-conducting material is preferably coated with the metallic element, and by regulating the degree of heat, the amount of the metallic element absorbed by the base or bod may be varied as desired, causing ment to entirely penetrate the base or body so as to produce a uniform impregnation, or the penetration or im regnatio'n may be arrested after the meta lic element has penetrated but a fraction of the body, thus eav ing an inner core of the body, the non-conducting element, surrounding the reinforcing material, in its original form, while a shell is formed therearound consisting of the nonconductor element and the metallic element combined and bonded together by fusion; It is of course understood that bythus varying the degree of impregnation, the degree of resistance may also be varied.

It is found that a fire-proof or non-conducting body composed primarilyof firemay be com aratively improved in character by the a dition of porcelain clay, alumina, silica, or com ou'ndsof silica, or any substance containing om 20% to 80% combined silica with other earthy matter, as well as compounds of calcium, aluminum, magnesium .and carbon. With any ,of these, however, it is desirable to use the calcium, or calcium compounds in varying roportions, according to the degree of con uctivity or ,-resistance required, and for the further reason that the presence of the calcium hastens the im regnation of the non conducting1 body with the metallic elements. It is foun that the resistance varies considerably with the amount of calcium compound or lime added to the clay composition, and that the calcium or'lime, if equal to or in excess, or thereabouts, to the clay mixture, the molten sulfid or mass causes the non-conductor or base itself to combine chemically or mechanically, or both, and fuse with the metallic element, forming a composition of matter consisting of a non-conducting element saturated or impregnated throughout with the conducting elemen and which can be poured into molds,- or puddled, or run into rods or bars, or pressed into shape.

While the preferred metallic element or conducting material consists of a mixture of sulfids of iron and lead, it is found that man of the common metals, such as iron, lea copper, tin, zinc and the like, either in their pure form or alloys, or in the form of oxids, sulfids, phosphids, tellurids, selenids, arsenids, or other salts, singly or together, have a certain value when used for this purpose. In fact, it is found that any metal or salt or compound of that metal, if it (when either sulfur,

the metal '0 'eleother salts, may

' gether.

phosphorus, tellurium, selenium, arsenic o acid is added) forms an electrical conducting I I oxid, suliid,-phosphid, tellurid, selenid, ar- In the application of the metallic elementsenid or other salt of that metal, may be emloyed, in conjunction with the non-conducting-base or body before described, and there v W1 be produced a material possessing m a certain degree, atleast, the advantages of this invention. i

In impregnating the non-conducting base or body with the powdered form of the metallic or conducting element, with the nonconducting element also in powdered form, the non-conductor should be mixed with the powdered pure metallic conductor, or an electrical conducting oxid thereof, and then either sulfur, phosphorus tellurium, arsenic, or selenium should be added, with or without calcium compounds, and the mixture ressed into the required shape and subjecte to the necessary degree of heat to cause the same to fuse. If desired, powdered metallic elec trical conducting oxids, sulfids, phosphids, tellurids, selenids, arsenids or compounds or be mixed with any of the aforesaid non-conducting materials, with or without calcium or lime, and after pressing the same into the hape desired,-subjected to them to fuse to- But, as before stated, the preferred, and by far'more advantageous method and superior product or material, is that involving the formation of the non-conducting body and its subsequent impregnation by the molten metallic element. It is also found that in vention, nipulating the materials 1n order to-coat, imregnate or saturate the base of non-conducting material with the metallic conductor is to cause .the metallic element to volatilize, sublime or spra on the non-conducting material. In sue case, the iron or lead, whether used singly or together, or any of the other common metals enumerated, in their ure form or in the form of oxide, sulfids, p os phids, arsenids, tellurids, or-selenids, or their salts, are reduced to a molten state and may be caused to volatilize, sublime or spray by the application of heat, either with or without an artificial draft. When the metal, under such conditions, begins to volatilize, spra or sublime, thesurface of the noncon ucting materlal is'subjected to it, and it soon becomes ashot as themetal'itself, and

beingI up t e metal mass in a coat an t1on at, once begins. 7 If the timeof ex osure.

be continued, complete saturation ofjt e absorbent non-conducting material with the metallic material will result."

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

' 1. The herein described composition of the necessary heat, causing practicing the in another convement manner of maporous and absorbent,= beg1nsfto take impregnamatter containing a non-conducting element impregnated with a metallic element.

2. The herein described com osition of matter containing a fire-proof c ement impregnated with a metallic element.

3. The herein described composition of matter containing a non-conducting element impregnated with a metallic element, the two existing in a fusedcondition.

4. The herein described composition of matter containing a fire-proof element and an electrical conductor, the two being fused togcther and one im regnated with the other.

5. The herein escribed composition of matter consistin of a non-conducting body or base saturated with a fused metallic element.

6. The herein described composition of matter containing fire-clay impregnated with a metal.

7. The herein described composition of matter containing fire-clay as a non-conductor in fplregnated with a metallic conductor.

8. e herein described, composition of matter containing fire-clay impregnated and coated with a metallic conductor.

9. The herein described composition of matter containing fire-clay and a suitable binder saturated or impregnated with a metallic conductor.

10. The herein describedcomposition of matter containingfire-clay and a suitable binder in regnated and coated with a me tallic con uctor.

11. The herein described composition of matter containing fire-clay impregnated with ii. lietallic conductor containing iron and 'ea 112. The herein described composition of matter containing fireclay im regnated with it c'pnductor containing sulfi s of iron and ea 13. The herein described composition of matter containing fire-clay and a suitable cement orbinder impregnated with the sulfids of iron and lead.

14. The herein described method Which consistsin subjecting fire-clay to a composition containing a metallic conductor and causin the metallic conducting material to enter t e fire-clay. v

15. The herein described method "which consists in vitriiying and solidifying a mixor impregnating the same with a metallic conductor.

16. The herein described method which consists in. subjecting a porous non-conductin substance to a composition wcontamm suIfids of iron and lead as a conductor, an afterwards applying heat to cause the porous non-conductor to become impregnated with the said conductor.

17. The herein described method which consists in subjecting a porous non-conducting substance to a metal conductor and causing the metallic conductin material to enter the porous nonconductor y the'application of heat.

' 18. The herein described method which consists in driving a metallic substance into a fporous body of material by the application 0 heat. 1

19. The herein. described method which consists in impregnating a non-conducting element with a molten conductin element and bondin the two together by i usion.

20. The consists in forming an absorbent body or base and im re nating the same with a molten metal 10 e ement.

21. The herein described method which consists in forming a non-conducting base or body of a porous material and saturating the same with a molten metallic element.

erein descrlbed method. which 22. The herein described method which consists in subjecting a porous absorbent non-conducting substance to a metallic conductor in volatile form or s ray.

24. The herein describe method which consists in subjecting a porous absorbent non-conducting substance to a metallic conductor in volatile form or spray by, the application'of heat and a forced draft to t e metallic conducting material.

In testimony whereof I-have signed .my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 6th day of August A. D.'1907.

. WILLIAM ANSYL PHILLIPS. Witnesses:

O. L.WEBER,

L. S. ELMORE. 

